control-center: add optional dual-column layout

data/style/style.scss

@@ -39,6 +39,17 @@ scrollbar {
   padding: 0;
 }
 
+/* Dual layout */
+.dual-layout {
+  & > separator {
+    margin: 0 15px;
+  }
+}
+
+.notifications-placeholder {
+  opacity: 0.5;
+}
+
 /* Notifications widget */
 @import "widgets/notifications";
 /* Label widget */

data/ui/widgets/notifications.blp

@@ -37,6 +37,28 @@ template $XimperShellNotificationCenterWidgetsNotifications: $XimperShellNotific
     }
   }
 
+  Box placeholder_box {
+    visible: false;
+    halign: center;
+    valign: center;
+    hexpand: true;
+    vexpand: true;
+    orientation: vertical;
+    spacing: 12;
+
+    styles ["notifications-placeholder"]
+
+    Image {
+      pixel-size: 96;
+      icon-name: "preferences-system-notifications-symbolic";
+      use-fallback: true;
+    }
+
+    Label {
+      label: _("No Notifications");
+    }
+  }
+
   ScrolledWindow scrolled_window {
     hscrollbar-policy: never;
     has-frame: false;

man/ximper-shell-notification-center.5.scd

@@ -156,6 +156,13 @@ config file to be able to detect config errors
 		to its content, up to 'control-center-height' as ++
 		maximum. If false, height is fixed.
 
+*control-center-layout* ++
+	type: string ++
+	default: single ++
+	values: single, dual ++
+	description: Panel layout. "single" is a vertical column. ++
+		"dual" places widgets and notifications side by side.
+
 *control-center-width* ++
 	type: integer ++
 	default: 500 ++

po/ru.po

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ msgid ""
 msgstr ""
 "Project-Id-Version: ximper-shell-notification-center 0.1.0\n"
 "Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: \n"
-"POT-Creation-Date: 2026-03-27 20:18+0300\n"
+"POT-Creation-Date: 2026-03-27 23:10+0300\n"
 "PO-Revision-Date: 2026-03-24 00:00+0300\n"
 "Last-Translator: \n"
 "Language-Team: Russian\n"
@@ -18,24 +18,24 @@ msgstr ""
 "Plural-Forms: nplurals=3; plural=(n%10==1 && n%100!=11 ? 0 : n%10>=2 && n"
 "%10<=4 && (n%100<10 || n%100>=20) ? 1 : 2);\n"
 
-#: src/notification/notification.vala:539
+#: src/notification/notification.vala:536
 msgid "Enter Text"
 msgstr "Введите текст"
 
-#: src/notification/notification.vala:551
+#: src/notification/notification.vala:548
 msgid "Reply"
 msgstr "Ответить"
 
-#: src/notification/notification.vala:579
+#: src/notification/notification.vala:576
 #, c-format
 msgid "COPY \"%s\""
 msgstr "КОПИРОВАТЬ \"%s\""
 
-#: src/notification/notification.vala:621
+#: src/notification/notification.vala:618
 msgid "Now"
 msgstr "Сейчас"
 
-#: src/notification/notification.vala:625
+#: src/notification/notification.vala:622
 #, c-format
 msgid "%d min ago"
 msgid_plural "%d mins ago"
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ msgstr[0] "%d мин. назад"
 msgstr[1] "%d мин. назад"
 msgstr[2] "%d мин. назад"
 
-#: src/notification/notification.vala:629
+#: src/notification/notification.vala:626
 #, c-format
 msgid "%d hour ago"
 msgid_plural "%d hours ago"
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ msgstr[0] "%d ч. назад"
 msgstr[1] "%d ч. назад"
 msgstr[2] "%d ч. назад"
 
-#: src/notification/notification.vala:633
+#: src/notification/notification.vala:630
 #, c-format
 msgid "%d day ago"
 msgid_plural "%d days ago"
@@ -162,12 +162,13 @@ msgstr "Уведомления"
 msgid "Clear All"
 msgstr "Очистить"
 
+#: data/ui/widgets/notifications.blp:58
+msgid "No Notifications"
+msgstr "Нет уведомлений"
+
 #: data/ui/widgets/backlight.blp:18
 msgid "Brightness"
 msgstr "Яркость"
 
-#~ msgid "No Notifications"
-#~ msgstr "Нет уведомлений"
-
 #~ msgid "No active sink input"
 #~ msgstr "Нет активного источника"

po/ximper-shell-notification-center.pot

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ msgid ""
 msgstr ""
 "Project-Id-Version: ximper-shell-notification-center\n"
 "Report-Msgid-Bugs-To: \n"
-"POT-Creation-Date: 2026-03-27 20:18+0300\n"
+"POT-Creation-Date: 2026-03-27 23:10+0300\n"
 "PO-Revision-Date: YEAR-MO-DA HO:MI+ZONE\n"
 "Last-Translator: FULL NAME <EMAIL@ADDRESS>\n"
 "Language-Team: LANGUAGE <LL@li.org>\n"
@@ -18,38 +18,38 @@ msgstr ""
 "Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit\n"
 "Plural-Forms: nplurals=INTEGER; plural=EXPRESSION;\n"
 
-#: src/notification/notification.vala:539
+#: src/notification/notification.vala:536
 msgid "Enter Text"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: src/notification/notification.vala:551
+#: src/notification/notification.vala:548
 msgid "Reply"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: src/notification/notification.vala:579
+#: src/notification/notification.vala:576
 #, c-format
 msgid "COPY \"%s\""
 msgstr ""
 
-#: src/notification/notification.vala:621
+#: src/notification/notification.vala:618
 msgid "Now"
 msgstr ""
 
-#: src/notification/notification.vala:625
+#: src/notification/notification.vala:622
 #, c-format
 msgid "%d min ago"
 msgid_plural "%d mins ago"
 msgstr[0] ""
 msgstr[1] ""
 
-#: src/notification/notification.vala:629
+#: src/notification/notification.vala:626
 #, c-format
 msgid "%d hour ago"
 msgid_plural "%d hours ago"
 msgstr[0] ""
 msgstr[1] ""
 
-#: src/notification/notification.vala:633
+#: src/notification/notification.vala:630
 #, c-format
 msgid "%d day ago"
 msgid_plural "%d days ago"
@@ -159,6 +159,10 @@ msgstr ""
 msgid "Clear All"
 msgstr ""
 
+#: data/ui/widgets/notifications.blp:58
+msgid "No Notifications"
+msgstr ""
+
 #: data/ui/widgets/backlight.blp:18
 msgid "Brightness"
 msgstr ""

src/config.json.in

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
   "control-center-width": 400,
   "control-center-height": 740,
   "control-center-dynamic-height": true,
+  "control-center-layout": "single",
   "control-center-margin-top": 8,
   "control-center-margin-bottom": 8,
   "control-center-margin-right": 8,

src/configModel/configModel.vala

@@ -652,6 +652,12 @@ namespace XimperShellNotificationCenter {
          */
         public string control_center_preferred_output { get; set; default = ""; }
 
+        /**
+         * Panel layout: "single" (vertical) or "dual" (two columns).
+         */
+        public string control_center_layout {
+            get; set; default = "single";
+        }
 
         /**
          * Notification icon size, in pixels.

src/configSchema.json

@@ -146,6 +146,12 @@
       "type": "string",
       "description": "The preferred output to open the control center. Can either be the monitor connector name (ex: \"DP-1\"), or the full name, manufacturer model serial (ex: \"Acer Technologies XV272U V 503023B314202\"). If the output is not found, the currently focused one is picked"
     },
+    "control-center-layout": {
+      "type": "string",
+      "description": "Panel layout: single (vertical column) or dual (widgets and notifications side by side)",
+      "default": "single",
+      "enum": ["single", "dual"]
+    },
     "transition-time": {
       "type": "integer",
       "description": "The notification animation duration. 0 to disable",

src/controlCenter/controlCenter.vala

@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ namespace XimperShellNotificationCenter {
         private List<unowned Widgets.BaseWidget> widgets;
         private const string[] DEFAULT_WIDGETS = { "notifications" };
 
+            private Gtk.Box ?dual_container = null;
+        private Gtk.Box ?left_column = null;
+        private Gtk.SizeGroup ?dual_size_group = null;
+
         private string ?monitor_name = null;
 
         public ControlCenter () {
@@ -177,58 +181,123 @@ namespace XimperShellNotificationCenter {
             return true;
         }
 
+        private void remove_from_parent (Gtk.Widget child) {
+            var parent = child.get_parent ();
+            if (parent != null && parent is Gtk.Box) {
+                ((Gtk.Box) parent).remove (child);
+            }
+        }
+
         /** Adds all custom widgets. Removes previous widgets */
         public void add_widgets () {
-            // Remove all widgets
-            widgets.foreach ((widget) => {
-                if (widget.get_parent () == box) {
-                    box.remove (widget);
+            // Detach all widgets from parents first
+            foreach (unowned Widgets.BaseWidget widget
+                     in widgets) {
+                remove_from_parent (widget);
             }
-                // Except for notifications. Otherwise we'd lose notifications
-                if (widget is Widgets.Notifications) {
-                    return;
+            if (notifications_widget != null) {
+                remove_from_parent (notifications_widget);
+            }
+
+            // Remove dual layout container
+            if (dual_container != null) {
+                box.remove (dual_container);
+                dual_container = null;
+                left_column = null;
+                dual_size_group = null;
+            }
+
+            // Reset widgets list, keep notifications
+            widgets = new List<unowned Widgets.BaseWidget> ();
+            if (notifications_widget != null) {
+                widgets.append (notifications_widget);
             }
-                widgets.remove (widget);
-            });
 
             string[] w = ConfigModel.instance.widgets.data;
             if (w.length == 0) {
                 w = DEFAULT_WIDGETS;
             }
 
-            bool has_notifications = false;
-            foreach (string key in w) {
-                // Add the widget if it is valid
-                bool is_notifications;
-                Widgets.BaseWidget ?widget = Widgets.get_widget_from_key (
-                    key, out is_notifications);
+            bool is_dual =
+                ConfigModel.instance.control_center_layout
+                    == "dual"
+                && notifications_widget != null;
 
-                if (is_notifications) {
-                    if (notifications_widget == null) {
-                        continue;
+            // Prepare target containers
+            Gtk.Box widgets_target;
+            if (is_dual) {
+                setup_dual_container ();
+                widgets_target = left_column;
+            } else {
+                widgets_target = box;
             }
-                    if (has_notifications) {
-                        warning ("Cannot have multiple " +
-                                 "\"notifications\" widgets! " +
-                                 "Skipping \"%s\"", key);
+
+            bool has_notifications = false;
+
+            foreach (string key in w) {
+                bool is_notif;
+                Widgets.BaseWidget ?widget =
+                    Widgets.get_widget_from_key (
+                        key, out is_notif);
+
+                if (is_notif) {
+                    if (notifications_widget == null
+                            || has_notifications) {
                         continue;
                     }
                     has_notifications = true;
-
-                    notifications_widget.reload_config ();
-                    box.append (notifications_widget);
                     continue;
                 }
                 if (widget == null) {
                     continue;
                 }
 
-                // Note: Copies the value into the linked list
                 widgets.append (widget);
+                widgets_target.append (widget);
+            }
+
+            // Add notifications
+            if (has_notifications) {
+                if (is_dual) {
+                    var right = new Gtk.Box (
+                        Gtk.Orientation.VERTICAL, 0);
+                    right.add_css_class (
+                        "notifications-column");
+                    right.set_hexpand (true);
+                    dual_size_group.add_widget (right);
+                    right.append (notifications_widget);
+                    dual_container.append (right);
+                } else {
+                    box.append (notifications_widget);
+                }
+                notifications_widget.reload_config ();
+            }
 
-                unowned Widgets.BaseWidget cloned_widget = widgets.last ().data;
-                box.append (cloned_widget);
+            if (is_dual) {
+                box.append (dual_container);
+            }
         }
+
+        private void setup_dual_container () {
+            dual_container = new Gtk.Box (
+                Gtk.Orientation.HORIZONTAL, 0);
+            dual_container.add_css_class ("dual-layout");
+            dual_container.set_vexpand (true);
+
+            dual_size_group = new Gtk.SizeGroup (
+                Gtk.SizeGroupMode.HORIZONTAL);
+
+            left_column = new Gtk.Box (
+                Gtk.Orientation.VERTICAL, 0);
+            left_column.add_css_class ("widgets-column");
+            left_column.set_hexpand (true);
+            dual_size_group.add_widget (left_column);
+
+            var separator = new Gtk.Separator (
+                Gtk.Orientation.VERTICAL);
+
+            dual_container.append (left_column);
+            dual_container.append (separator);
         }
 
         /** Resets the UI positions */

src/controlCenter/widgets/notifications/notifications.vala

@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@ namespace XimperShellNotificationCenter.Widgets {
         [GtkChild]
         unowned Gtk.Button clear_all_button;
         [GtkChild]
+        unowned Gtk.Box placeholder_box;
+        [GtkChild]
         unowned Gtk.ScrolledWindow scrolled_window;
         [GtkChild]
         unowned Gtk.Viewport viewport;
@@ -99,28 +101,44 @@ namespace XimperShellNotificationCenter.Widgets {
             bool dynamic =
                 ConfigModel.instance
                     .control_center_dynamic_height;
-            set_vexpand (!dynamic);
+            bool is_dual =
+                ConfigModel.instance.control_center_layout
+                    == "dual";
+            set_vexpand (is_dual || !dynamic);
             scrolled_window.set_propagate_natural_height (
-                dynamic);
+                dynamic && !is_dual);
             update_header_visibility ();
         }
 
         private void update_header_visibility () {
             bool has_notis = !is_empty ();
-            scrolled_window.set_visible (has_notis);
+            bool is_dual =
+                ConfigModel.instance.control_center_layout
+                    == "dual";
+
+            // Placeholder only in dual mode when empty
+            bool show_placeholder = is_dual && !has_notis;
+            placeholder_box.set_visible (show_placeholder);
+            scrolled_window.set_visible (!show_placeholder
+                && (is_dual || has_notis));
+
             switch (show_title) {
                 case "true":
                     header_box.set_visible (true);
                     title_label.set_visible (true);
-                    clear_all_button.set_sensitive (has_notis);
+                    clear_all_button.set_sensitive (
+                        has_notis);
                     break;
                 case "false":
                     header_box.set_visible (has_notis);
                     title_label.set_visible (false);
                     break;
                 default: // auto
-                    header_box.set_visible (has_notis);
+                    header_box.set_visible (
+                        is_dual || has_notis);
                     title_label.set_visible (true);
+                    clear_all_button.set_sensitive (
+                        has_notis);
                     break;
             }
         }